You’ve got to dream big: Lewis Dunk eyes Europa League glory with Brighton
Captain Lewis Dunk says Brighton are dreaming of Europa League glory after securing a spot in the knockout stages on a historic day for the club. Albion guaranteed a top-two finish in Group B with a game to spare thanks to an unconvincing 1-0 victory away to 10-man AEK Athens. Joao Pedro’s 55th-minute penalty proved the difference against the Greek champions as the Seagulls set aside a disjointed display to progress ahead of a final-round fixture at home to Marseille on December 14. Defender Dunk is determined to finish in first place in the pool in order to advance directly to the last 16 and avoid a knockout round play-off against a team falling out of the Champions League. “The next game, we’ve got to win, we’ve got to top the group,” he told Brighton’s website. “I think that’s massive, you miss a round out. “That’s our next aim in this competition but who knows how far we can go? “We want to win it and you’ve got to dream big to achieve it. We’re going to set our sights on reaching the final and winning it.” Brighton, who are enjoying their maiden European adventure, were second best in the first half at AEK Arena and fortunate not to fall behind when Steven Zuber’s shot deflected off Dunk and struck a post. The contest turned during a pivotal 10-minute second-half spell in which Pedro converted a VAR-awarded penalty after being fouled by AEK captain Damian Szymanski and Mijat Gacinovic was dismissed for a second booking. Following back-to-back successes over four-time European champions Ajax, Albion jubilantly celebrated another famous win with the travelling fans. England international Dunk, who made his senior debut when the Seagulls were a League One side, acknowledged the visitors were forced to dig deep. It's a historic day for the football club. Lewis Dunk “It’s massive,” the 32-year-old said of the result. “I think you can see in the celebration at the end what it means. “It’s a historic day for the football club. “We came into this tournament to qualify out of the group and we’ve done that tonight. “It wasn’t the prettiest of our performances but sometimes you’ve got to win like that and it’s all credit to us.” Pedro’s successful spot-kick was his fifth goal in the competition and backed up his match-winning brace as a substitute in Saturday’s 3-2 Premier League victory at Nottingham Forest. Dunk, whose right shoulder was taped up at full-time, was sent off at the City Ground and will miss Sunday’s trip to Chelsea due to suspension. “(I’m) just nursing a few injuries but you just get on with them,” he replied when asked about the strapping. “Frustrating not to be out there (at Stamford Bridge), it’s my fault and I’ve got to deal with that myself.” Read More David Moyes urges West Ham to finish the job and top Group A Tomas Soucek snatches late winner for West Ham in Serbia Joao Pedro penalty sends Brighton through to Europa League knockout stages Five bad weeks do not define a team – England’s Ben Duckett Daniel Levy ‘proud’ as report reveals Tottenham’s investment in local community Wales call on Chris Coleman in bid to boost Women’s Nations League hopes
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Liverpool vs LASK LIVE: Europa League score and updates as Mohamed Salah scores 199th club goal
Liverpool are back in Europa League action as they host Austrian side LASK an Anfield this evening hoping to get back to winning ways after a shock defeat to Toulouse in their last European outing. The Reds are top of Group E with nine points from their four matches and have a two-point buffer over the French side in second. Jurgen Klopp will have his sights set on topping the table and moving straight into the round of 16. Victory tonight would secure Liverpool’s place in that stage if Toulouse also lose to Union Saint-Gilloise but that is not a guarantee. First the need to get past LASK who are currently third in the Austrian Bundesliga. They will come to Anfield with some confidence having beaten Union Saint-Gilloise 3-0 last time out but that was their first win of the Europa League this season. Can they cause a shock on Merseyside tonight? Follow all the action as Liverpool host LASK plus get the latest odds and tips right here:
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Tomas Soucek struck late on yet again as West Ham secured their passage into the knock-out stages of the Europa League despite a Serbian snooze-fest against Backa Topola. The Czech midfielder has now scored in his last five matches for club and country after an 89th-minute volley earned a scratchy 1-0 win. Now they need to finish the job against Freiburg at the London Stadium in a fortnight to ensure they top the group and avoid a two-legged play-off in February. Around 320 hardy West Ham fans made the 2,000-mile journey out to the Balkans, including a 100-mile trek up the motorway from Belgrade to the TSC Arena. Many of them had got their wish, in the absence of injured forwards Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio, of a first start of the season for 19-year-old FA Youth Cup-winning striker Divin Mubama. But the youngster barely got a sniff of the ball as West Ham struggled to rouse themselves in the sleepy Serbian town. The hosts came into the encounter on the back of a 4-0 win over Super League leaders Partizan at the weekend, and they made a confident start with Uros Milovanovic forcing an early save from Lukasz Fabianski. Then an error from Aaron Cresswell, handed a rare start in one of seven changes from the side which snatched a late win at Burnley thanks to Soucek’s goal, gifted Aleksandar Cirkovic a shooting opportunity with Fabianski saving again. West Ham registered their first shot on target after half an hour, a tame effort from Said Benrahma on his 150th West Ham appearance which was easily dealt with by Veljko Ilic. But it was a mind-numbing first half neatly summed up by former player Joe Cole, on TNT Sports, as “dross” and “appalling”. Boss David Moyes turned to Danny Ings and the lesser-spotted Maxwel Cornet just after the hour, replacing Benrahma and Mubama, in a bid to inject some life into his unconvincing side. And as the game ticked into stoppage tie Cornet crossed from the left and Soucek hammered in a volley to win it. West Ham have enjoyed a thrilling run in Europe over the past three seasons, including their historic Europa Conference League final triumph in Prague. Although this was not one which will live long in the memory it was an 18th win in 20 matches in Europe, job done for Moyes and his side. Read More Joao Pedro penalty sends Brighton through to Europa League knockout stages Five bad weeks do not define a team – England’s Ben Duckett Daniel Levy ‘proud’ as report reveals Tottenham’s investment in local community Wales call on Chris Coleman in bid to boost Women’s Nations League hopes The key talking points ahead of England’s Women’s Nations League double-header Kevin Sinfield vows to keep raising funds to combat MND ahead of new challenge
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